English Language & Usage Asked on April 18, 2021
The word “crapweasel” (or “crap weasel”, “crap-weasel”) has been used on an episode of Friends. Does anyone know its origin? Or is the term simply coined by Friends?
See, minute 2:20: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzlQi0dyWLE
Green's Dictionary of Slang defines crapweasel 'an irritatingly stupid or deceitful person'.
According to Barry Popik's website, 'crapweasel' was coined in an episode of the television sitcom 'Friends' that aired on 3rd November, 1994. Ross used it to describe Paolo.
Barry Popik says that 'crapweasel' is a compound of 'crap' and 'weasel'. He further says that 'crapweasel' was applied to politics in the 2000s and has been frequently used by conservative blogger Michelle Malkin.
About 'weasel words', Popik says that it was popularised by Theodore Roosevelt in 1916. Here's an entry on 'weasel words' from the OED:
Weasel word n. orig. U.S. an equivocating or ambiguous word which takes away the force or meaning of the concept being expressed.
1900 S. Chaplin in Cent. Mag. June 306/2 ‘The public should be protected—’ ‘Duly protected,’ said Gamage, ‘That’s always a good *weasel word.’
Correct answer by Decapitated Soul on April 18, 2021
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